Did LeBron James secretly get hair transplant? Story behind former MVP's changing hairline explained

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: NBA legend and Lakers star LeBron James has long admitted to losing his hair. However, he has been less than open about how he managed to stop himself from balding over the years, reported Nicki Swift on Saturday, November 9.

The size of the headband of the former Cleveland Cavaliers forward had started to grow in an attempt to hide his receding hairline in 2014. The effort was futile, and his followers began to take notice. However, in September that year, Deadspin reported that James' hair suddenly appeared fuller, and concluded that the star probably put in hair plugs.

Experts share their opinion of LeBron James' hair transplant

Experts in the field began to share their take on whether LeBron James' had a surgical hair transplant in the following days.

In an interview with Cleveland 19 News in September 2014, Rob Hoffman, the president of the Hairline Clinic of Akron, shared that James "definitely has more hair there's no question."

He believed the star opted for a hair transplant process known as follicular unit extraction (FUE), and explained, "We go in and we take each hair follicle out one at a time."

In a video uploaded on YouTube, plastic surgeon Dr Gary Linkov, shared, "I guess as time goes by, he's been getting more transplants." He also believed that the athlete took the help of a concealer to fortify his hairline.

However, all such claims were contradicted by James' former personal barber Nick Castemanos, who insisted that he did not take any help, and told Yahoo!Sports in June 2015, "There is no dye. No additives. No preservatives."

Wardrobe malfunction that revealed LeBron James' hair secret

After joining the Lakers, LeBron James experienced a wardrobe malfunction during a game in October 2019, where his hair moved along with his headband.

Teammate Anthony Davis brought the situation to James' attention from the courtside, and clips of their exchange went viral on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

"Bron’s weave guy is SO fired," posted a troll. "Whoever invents weave glue that won’t sweat out is gettin ALL the King’s money."

Former NBA player and sports analyst Jalen Rose discussed James' hair situation during an interview on Hot 97 in November 2019.

"So LeBron has something that's called a 'unit.' If you notice, you ain't seen LeBron rocking a headband since." he said, adding that James was using something similar to a hairpiece and not a hair transplant. "What I hear is it's not necessarily surgically done. It's more stitched."